Pinterest Search Engine Optmization

The argument about whether Pinterest is a social media network or search engine is never ending.

Recently, Pinterest has developed many features that resemble popular social media networks. This includes private messaging, commenting on pins, and even it’s newest addition called communities that are much like Facebook groups. These different elements have allowed for more communication between users on the platform.

Personally, I believe that Pinterest is a search engine, like Google. When you use the search tool at the top of the page, you are likely to get other articles related to the topic, rather than conversations that people are having about it. This gives the website more of a search engine feel.

Because there are search engine aspects to the platform, it’s important you practice good search engine optimization. Pinterest search engine optimization is the use of strategies and techniques to increase the amount of visitors to your Pinterest profile by obtaining a high ranking in search results. Below are a few of the techniques and profile changes I suggest for a higher ranking on Pinterest.

The Overview of Your Profile

Here is where people would see the simplified version of the rest of your profile. There’s a profile cover, featured board, and profile description. There are a couple of changes you can make to this overview page to really make a difference in your ranking.

1. Your Profile Name

Besides using your actual name, you are allowed to add keywords to describe your business. This means that, if you were a food blogger, you could use the profile name “Rachel | Food Blogger | Cakes” to explain that you are a food blogger that likes to write about cakes.

2. Your Profile Description

This is another great place to put keywords about your business, but make sure the sentences make sense. You don’t want to just shovel keywords into your description box in hopes that you’ll show up in the rankings better.

3. Profile Cover

Every business owner on Pinterest should have a “Best Of” board. This is where all of your content would go so readers can access the content more quickly. You’ll want to change your profile cover to this board so people are seeing your content when they first go to your profile overview.

4. Featured Board

We’ve discussed a little bit about your “Best Of” board. You’ll want to make sure this board is also your featured board as it gives your readers another opportunity to get to your content before anything else you’ve pinned.

Your Content

Your profile is not the only thing that needs to be optimized. You’ll want to focus on the content you share too. This includes your boards and personal pins.

1. Board Cover Photos

There is an ongoing argument about whether board covers are necessary or not. Personally, the use of these images allow people to see the content that you’ve shared instead of group boards full of other people’s pins. You can also link the images back to your website or to the board itself to help provide the know, like, trust factor with your readers.

2. All Boards Have Keyword Rich Descriptions

Your boards should all have keywords in the description to properly show Pinterest what the board is about. You can use at least 6 keywords to develop 1-3 sentences for the description.

3. Group Boards Within Your Niche

Recently, it’s become known that group boards are no longer beneficial when it comes to promoting your content. I still believe they can be used as a source of categorization for your pins. For example, if you pin something to your motherhood board and any group boards related to motherhood, Pinterest is more likely to categorize that pin as motherhood more quickly.

4. Hashtags

Using hashtags in your pin descriptions help categorize your pins in real-time while you wait for Pinterest to do its regular categorizing process which can take up to 3 months without proper placement of the pin into your profile. If you’re interested in getting more tips for using hashtags on Pinterest, you can sign up for my Pinterest Hashtag list HERE!

These different techniques I’ve mentioned help develop a good sense of optimizaiton for Pinterest. Altogether, you’ll likely get higher monthly page views and can develop a good profile quickly!